"Where are you?" was God's cry when He came and walked in the garden in the cool of the day (Gen 3,8-9). And neither Adam nor Eve were in the location where God expected to find them.
The question was not 'Who are you?', a highly relevant question for many christians today struggling with identity. All too many. But Adam and Eve knew who they were. They were God's sons (Lk 3,38). The issue with the "Where are you?" question goes much deeper. It's not about identity. It's about position, it's about assignment. It's about mature responsibility, accurate representation and contribution to the establishment and advancement of the Kingdom.
God expected to find His sons totally devoted, engaged and busy with the assignment which He had entrusted them with ... A three-fold assignment:
TO GUARD... and administrate
TO GROW... and cultivate and develop
TO GOVERN... and establish order
It had no limitations as their fellowship with God and His creation were absolutely defined and divinely perfect:
"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." Gen 1,28-31"
"And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates." Gen 2,9-14
• Man was created in God's image.
• Man was blessed by God.
• Man was spoken to by God.
• Man was given dominion over fish, birds and every living thing that moves on earth.
• Man was given food.
• Man was given the ability to be fruitful and multiply.
• Man was given rivers.
• Man had access to gold and other precious metals.
Total perfection. Phenomenal wealth.... not only material.
They lived and worked in total transparency and sincerity... and without shame:
"And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." Gen 2,25
But the assignment did have borders... regarding the trees:
"The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed ... Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Gen 2,8-17
And regarding the territory:
"Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it." Gen 2,10-15
If they had done well, the borders might have been moved and the territory expanded. But no. God sent them out from Eden.
If they had done well, multiplication would have meant the spreading of God's glory. But no. Evil spread, neither divine glory nor human stature and nobility.
God would have to wait until He found Abram. Then everything turned well. Therefore believers are not called sons of Adam but sons of Abraham. And Jesus is called son of David, son of Abraham by Matthew. God created Adam and Eve, blessed them with all kinds of wealth and entrusted them with an assignment. But they deviated from their strategic position. God looked for them there but didn't find them there.
We hear God calling Joshua: "You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess." (Josh 13,1). In other words: 'Joshua where are you?'
Joshua came back to the assignment and finished it and at the end of his life he challenged the whole nation: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." In other words: Israel, where are you?'
God's Word in this season is a call, a question: Where are you?
It's time to position yourself strategically. Make meaningful plans. Build purposeful connections. Engage accurate training. Educate yourself.
Philip DuPont (May 2021)
